Tag Archives: Phantom of the Opera

Mondo Gallery Universal Monsters Exhibit Opening Night

I love it when the stars align and a business trip puts me in the right place at the right time. Earlier this month, I had just such an opportunity when a trip to Austin, Texas, coincided with the opening of the new Universal Monsters exhibit at the Mondo Gallery.

While I’m not new to Mondo entirely, I had no idea what to expect and so, after a great meal of Tex-Mex, I strolled over the gallery. It was an unusually wet and chilly January day in Austin, and while it was still more pleasant than my Minnesota home, I was stunned to see the waiting line extending down the block for hundreds of feet.

In talking to people in line, this is standard fair for opening night at Mondo exhibits as collectors and enthusiasts get their first shot at purchasing prints from the new collections. What struck me, though, as a Universal Monster fan and classic monster collector, was the age of those in line. We often think of our community as being largely Boomers and some older Generation X, those of us who grew up in the monster boom of the 1960s and 70s. This crowd was anything but that, made up almost entirely of 20 and 30 somethings! While this is a testament to the popularity of Mondo with the Millenial crowd, these folks were enthusiastically discussing their favorite monsters and monster movies. These were, indeed, our people!

With press credentials in hand, I was fortunate to bypass the hours-long wait and made my way into the small, nondescript gallery.

Being a Mondo neophyte, it took me a bit to get my bearings. So I decided to enjoy a complimentary local craft beer and watch the pattern of the more experienced Mondo collectors as they cued up for their must-have posters, enamel pins and lithographs.

Here’s a video from the opening night that does a far better job than my photography of showcasing the art and giving a feel for the event:

Take a closer look at some of artwork from the Mondo Gallery Universal Monsters exhibit:

About a week after the opening of the exhibit, Mondo released the first run of posters and enamel pins from the Universal Monsters collection for sale on their website.

Mondo posters are available in limited runs and they tend to show up on the secondary market pretty quickly (at appreciated prices of course). Mondo’s first Universal Monsters collection was released back in 2012 and a quick scan of eBay shows a nice sampling of posters from the original collection and, not surprisingly, some posters from the 2018 collection as well.

What do you think of these modern takes on the classic film posters of the Universal Monsters films? Do you have any Mondo art in your collections? Love to hear your stories!

Collecting the Rondo Awards 2015 Best Toy Category – Part 10

Funko ReAction Universal Monsters Collection

This is the final installment in my review of the 2014 nominees for the Best Toy, Model, Collectible category of the Rondo Hatton Horror Awards and we finish with the most classic of all monsters –the Funko ReAction Universal Monsters.

In 2013, Funko and Super 7 partnered to bring Kenner’s unreleased 1979 Alien prototypes to market. It wasn’t long afterwards that Funko announced a full “ReAction” line of retro 3 ¾” action figures based on characters from 1980’s cult, sci-fi and horror cinema: Escape From New York, Back to the Future, Terminator, a Rocketeer figure, iconic horror villains as well as the Universal Monsters. These news collections were designed as an homage to classic KennerStar Wars action figures of the 1970s and early 80s.

Controversy

The retro style has been a bit controversial as these figures have been panned by some for the lack of detailed likeness to the actors/character. Funko even extended that feeling of “vintage-ness” through the packaging, which is the same size as the original Kenner packaging from the late ’70s /early ’80s. This has also met with some push-back by collectors who find the side-panel style packaging a challenge to display.

We did originally look towards the first run of Kenner Star Wars figures for inspiration, especially when we first got started, so that’s why you’ll see that our Terminator and Snake Plissken sort or mimic that “softness”, but as we went on, things got a little more detailed, a little closer to ROTJ figures, which you’ll see in the Universal Monsters and Horror lines. Basically, we think there’s a sweet spot somewhere in there that we keep trying to hit. But Kenner remains our main inspiration as opposed to, say, Remco or Mego. But they have their charm, too.

I buy that logic fully and think that they nailed the retro styling of the characters. I particularly like the packaging, though finding them in pristine condition on store pegs has also been a frustration for collectors.

There are a lot of great reviews on these figures already published and, frankly, from folks with greater expertise then me. For your reading please, here’s a great review from one of my go-to resources for collectible toys, Brian Heller at Plaid Stallions.

Here’s the Funko ReAction Universal Monsters collection, in order of theatrical appearance:

Funky ReAction Phantom of the Opera

from The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Funko ReAction Dracula

from Dracula (1931)

Funko ReAction Frankenstein’s Monster

from Frankenstein (1931)

Funko ReAction The Mummy

from The Mummy (1932)

Funko ReAction Invisible Man

from The Invisible Man (1933)

Funko ReAction Bride of Frankenstein

from The Bride of Frankenstein (1932)

Funko ReAction Wolf Man

from The Wolf Man (1941)

Funko ReAction Creature from the Black Lagoon

from The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Product Details

3 ¾” action figures

Five points of articulation

bubble photo card

MSRP: $9.99 each

Chase Variants

Like all variants, forced scarcity is either the bane or the blessing of the completist collector. The glow variants were limited to one figure per every six cases and the clear Invisible Man was an Entertainment Earth exclusive.

Funky ReAction Mummy Glow in the Dark

Funko ReAction Invisible Man Transparent Variant

Creature from the Black Lagoon Glow Variant

Universal Monsters 2017 SDCC Glow Set

Where to Buy Funko ReAction Universal Monsters Collection

These figures are available near and far, so the real goal is finding them at the best price. They have been in the market long enough that they are widely available on secondary resale sites like eBay, but prices have increase because they are still available at retail prices in most stores. This makes it a buyers market for these figures.

Summary

While I appreciate that modern toy collectors have gotten used to incredible like-like sculpts, the fact that this line is inspired by 1970’s and 80’s toys is central to the design style. My Han Solo figure from Kenner didn’t really look like Harrison Ford in 1978 and I didn’t care; I loved it completely and totally.

I think the ReACTION line would have missed the mark if the figures were too realistic. They certainly wouldn’t have been as retro, so I’m fine with the less-then-realistic sculpts. In short, I think Funko nailed these figures.

My favorites are pretty much in line with my favorite monsters; The Creature and The Wolf Man were the two “must-own” figures for me. I was surprised by how much I liked the Invisible Man too. So far, those are the only three I’ve purchased, but this review has me re-considering the variants, at lease for the Gillman and Invisible Man.

These are priced really well. So well, in fact, that I got my kids a couple of the figures to open and —gasp– actually play with!

As a child of the 1970’s, who owned the original Kenner Star Wars figures, these bring back waves and waves of nostalgia. As an adult vintage monster toy collector, I love how these figures fit right into my collection. I don’t tend to buy many modern monster toys or collectibles, simply because I focus my limited collecting budget on high-grade vintage pieces.

So thumbs up on the figures from me all the way around–design, price, packaging — Funko nailed it. And with the recent announcement of the ReAction Jaws and ReAction Gremlins series, looks like we’ve got lots to look forward to from Funko ReAction.

Let me know your thoughts– do you like the retro style of the Funko ReAction Universal Monsters line or do you prefer the more sophisticated style of modern collectibles?